Cooperating with Police During a Drunk Driving Arrest

Cooperating With Police a During Drunk Driving Arrest

Being arrested for drunk driving isn’t something we’re prepared to embellish. Tears, fears and potential punishments race through your intoxicated mind, the alcohol obviously intensifying your emotional state. Upon arriving at city or county jail, you’ll literally hit rock bottom seeing the numerous murderers, rapists and burglars being treated like you’re about to be.

Take it from an experienced drunk driving attorney – cooperating yet not being overly cooperative is one statement that may help defend your case when pulled over, and could avoid the unfriendly conditions you just entered altogether.

Helpful Tactics When Pulled Over

Pulling over, as opposed to running, would definitely help your situation when you’ve been pulled over. Remember to use turn signals, yield to traffic and pull over on correct side of road. Aside from those tips, consider these quick thoughts before, and during, your questioning:

Never offer yourself outside the car, especially if you’re drunk.

Provide all requested paperwork without delaying.

Keep your seatbelt fastened to avoid further citations.

Speak with respectable tones, avoid using large words and extending conversations.

Utilize your right to remain silent if being unlawfully detained.

Offer nothing about how much you’ve drank; officers will already assume you’re lying.

Remember the entire incident from being pulled over, to the initial arrest. Your drunk driving defense attorney may interview you and collect valuable information to defend this case.

Listening to everything the officer says, along with cooperating with tests, will help you tremendously. Anything ‘fishy’ will be picked up by patrolman’s dash camera, which has sound enabled, and is 100% admissible (and frequently subpoenaed) in court for defense purposes.

What do to at checkpoints

Utilizing checkpoints simply to pluck drivers off roadways isn’t any more or less legal than your intoxicated condition, yet Arizona courts have ruled the constitutionality of these road blocks in previous cases depends on signage, language and availability of supervising officers. Although some Arizonans are keeping windows rolled up at checkpoints, advise your attorney prior engaging in risky behavior.

During busy holidays where travel is expected to elevate, State Police will set barriers to check ID’s and also pull potential intoxicated drivers off the interstates. According to legislative language, sobriety checkpoints are permissible, yet pulling vehicles over without reasonable suspicion of egregious activity, lack of registration or licensure isn’t plausible.

Therefore, always stop at drunk driving checkpoints when noticed yet take note of how the patrolmen are acting since their scope of legal activities are limited to whatever they’ve posted.

Tests are over. Now what?

Patrolman has completed the series of necessary testing, run your license for warrants and has determined that you’ve been driving while intoxicated as written into local, county and state law. He proceeds to approach you, reads you’re Miranda Rights, slap the cuffs on and shoves you into the paddy wagon.

What happened during the tests, and whatever is next, will ultimately determine whether you’ve got any shot of dropping the case, or if you’ll need to call your spouse or loved one to warn them of an imminent stay at one of Arizona’s many county jails. Your nerves, patience and strength will be tested next.

Above all else, make sure you never threaten an officer or brandish weapons. This will not only enhance your drunk driving charge, but may get you killed. Cooperate with all law enforcement commands, yet don’t offer more information than they deserve to know under law. You cannot be beaten for not talking, you cannot be charged additionally for your silence, and you’ll more than likely beat charges if you can prove coercion.